It's not the sensationalized media that has done anything to me.  It's the continual incompetence and misinformation put out by this government that tells me that no matter how nice the picture seems, the reality is always worse.

Did you even watch the CDC new conference? They never said everything was perfect and that there was no reason to be worried, but rather that the situation was under control. Unfortunately you are letting emotion rather than logic and scientific fact rule your posting. Funny, that as "pro-gun" advocates we very frequently complain that the anti-gun camp uses wild claims about how bad things will be if gun laws are "loosened" and that those claims are bereft of any factual basis. Which, ironically, is exactly what you are doing now. Facts be damned, you "think" the situation is a crisis so therefore it must be, right?

Obama promised they are doing everything necessary to keep Ebola out of the US.  That was obviously not good enough. 

Then we are told if Ebola ever did come to the US, we are prepared and have procedures in place to deal with it quickly and effectively.  What happens?  The ER sends the patient home.

We are doing everything we can to keep all sorts of "things" out of the US. But, unless we lock up the boarders and restrict international travel, it is impossible to keep everything out. As for being prepared, we are. As you mention, humans are not infallible. A mistake was made in Texas and the Ebola victim was discharged. Will it be a significant public health problem? Probably not. Could it cause some more people to fall ill? Possibly, but both Hawaii and the rest of the US, in general, are prepared. As demonstrated by the situation at Queens, healthcare providers, using an abundance of caution, managed a patient who could have had Ebola. As it turned out, he didn't, but if he had, all the correct steps were taken. 

Now the Hawaii "suspected" case is deemed to not be Ebola.  Is it because he tested negative?  No.  It's because they say he hasn't traveled anywhere to pick it up.  To me, that's not definitive enough to sound the all clear.

Once again, your ignorance on the subject of infectious diseases is evident. So, by your logic, when you go to the doctor you should receive diagnostic tests for gout even if the clinical picture clearly shows you don't have symptoms consistent with gout? Maybe a few x-rays even if you don't appear to have a fracture, or a CT scan of your head despite no history of trauma or possible intracranial mass.

Humans are not infallible.  Nobody is perfect.  No plan or procedure is perfect.  I don't care how professional and well trained and educated you think the CDC and other government and private health agencies are.  It only takes a couple of lapses in procedure, or some malicious people, to bypass the safeguards to infect more people.

So, sounds like we should ban guns because a few people may maliciously use them or that otherwise "good folks" may, due to human nature, make a few mistakes, right?

I've never had to personally care for infectious patients, but I fail to see how that matters?  When the ER staff who I assume DO know about infectious diseases let a patient go home after he disclosed his trip from Liberia speaks volumes to my point.

It speaks volumes to your point that humans are not infallible....other than that, your assumptions and statements are mostly without merit.

That point being:  no matter how hard we try to control our lives and environment, there are always gaps in our policies, plans, and procedures. 

True. No plan is fool proof and to use an old military axiom, no plan survives first contact. But you and your unsupported claims of a "Contagion" type scenario arising out of a government cover-up or incompetence is laughable.

Thanks for your insightful and professional analysis of what I think and how I feel.   

You trust the "professionals", and I'll be cautious.. 

Are you getting information the rest of us are not?  If not, then you are basically making a huge number of assumptions and turning them into fact.  My assumptions are based on a track record of failures and coverups for the last 6 years. 

That doesn't mean I'm ignoring any facts.  It means I don't take what the media and CDC are feeding us at face value.

And your straw arguments (So, by your logic, when you go to the doctor you should receive diagnostic tests for gout) and (sounds like we should ban guns because a few people may maliciously use them or that otherwise...) are stupid and obviously meant to be insulting.

The Hawaii patient was admitted and isolated because the hospital staff had reason to suspect it could be the Ebola Virus, not gout. 

And you know I'm not saying that we should punish or take away any rights of the healthcare workers and planners.  I'm saying we should not put our full blind faith in ANY system that involves humans. 

The human factor is quite often the source of many disasters.  From AMTRAK train wrecks to Jet Blue plane crashes ... people screw up and more people die.

It's not the sensationalized media that has done anything to me.  It's the continual incompetence and misinformation put out by this government that tells me that no matter how nice the picture seems, the reality is always worse. 

Obama promised they are doing everything necessary to keep Ebola out of the US.  That was obviously not good enough. 

Then we are told if Ebola ever did come to the US, we are prepared and have procedures in place to deal with it quickly and effectively.  What happens?  The ER sends the patient home.

Now the Hawaii "suspected" case is deemed to not be Ebola.  Is it because he tested negative?  No.  It's because they say he hasn't traveled anywhere to pick it up.  To me, that's not definitive enough to sound the all clear. 

Humans are not infallible.  Nobody is perfect.  No plan or procedure is perfect.  I don't care how professional and well trained and educated you think the CDC and other government and private health agencies are.  It only takes a couple of lapses in procedure, or some malicious people, to bypass the safeguards to infect more people.

I've never had to personally care for infectious patients, but I fail to see how that matters?  When the ER staff who I assume DO know about infectious diseases let a patient go home after he disclosed his trip from Liberia speaks volumes to my point.

That point being:  no matter how hard we try to control our lives and environment, there are always gaps in our policies, plans, and procedures.

you clearly dont understand any of what's going on.

you not having to treat infectious patients matters because you insinuated that people were donning full protective gear and that signaled it was more dangerous than the CDC was letting on.  that's just blatant falsehood. 

the facts are, that its just basic protection, and honestly not much more than you'd be working with in a university bio lad with much lesser dangers.  and the fact is, it IS only transmitted through bodily fluids, but you seem to think that its hard to contact bodily fluids by mistake.


furthermore, you're acting like its crazy or excessive to put someone with an incurable, highly contagious and highly lethal virus in isolation just because the disease isnt airborne, and needs contact with bodily fluids.   that's not crazy, its necessary precaution. 


and if you cant undestand why travel history is enough to rule out a case, you really havent paid attention.

you dont just get Ebola randomly.  its specific to certain geographic areas (maybe you should look up WHY its called Ebola), and if he wasnt in an infected zone, where do you think he's going to get it?

For months, doctors in my community — since we had a meeting six weeks ago — have been convinced that the United States
will be importing clusters regularly. Right now, on the continent of West Africa, there are a million people in isolation, in quarantine,
because of Ebola, and ten thousand passengers leave West Africa every single day. It’s just a matter of time before this disease
is carried to every corner of the world.

Assuming the patient survives, would they not then become a "carrier" of the disease? They haven't been "cured", they have just developed antibodies to the virus correct?

Would these "carriers" not be able to unintentionally infect others? Isn't this how "outbreaks" occur in west Africa? I don't think it just magically floats around in the atmosphere, it keeps coming back due to infected people passing it on, right?

Now that we have allowed infected people to enter the country and they are living here, doesn't this mean we have to worry about an outbreak here? I'm not asking if the government is "prepared" for it, because that really doesn't matter. Once the disease has established a foothold, people will get infected, it's just a question when and how many. As with AIDS, we can only hope the spread of the disease can be controlled as it will never be eliminated.

So if this Ebola thing is originating in Africa couldn't we start by quarantining the people automatically that come back from trips there? For at least the 21 days? I realize this sounds bad but I'm figuring the good of the many out weigh the good of the few. Just a thought.

Missouri Doctor: ‘It’s Just A Matter Of Time Before [Ebola] Is Carried To Every Corner Of The World’

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2014/10/03/missouri-doctor-its-just-a-matter-of-time-before-ebola-is-carried-to-every-corner-of-the-world/

Thanks for your insightful and professional analysis of what I think and how I feel.   

You trust the "professionals", and I'll be cautious.. 

I am the professional, you know, the guy who will have to transport and treat any Ebola patients that may eventually arrive here. So, to protect myself, and my loved ones, I have been reading everything about Ebola. If you think I'm going to unnecessarily risk my health, or that of my family, you're just plain wrong. The information I relay to others here is from that self education. Why? Because I tend to operate on facts...not baseless assumptions, not emotional arguments, not conspiracy theory tin foil hat wearing talking heads, facts. Those facts are readily available for your review should you choose to undertake that endeavor and that you have at least enough healthcare and statistical analysis background to understand the more technical information out there. All I have tried to do is distill it for those that may not have that inclination or background.

Are you getting information the rest of us are not?  If not, then you are basically making a huge number of assumptions and turning them into fact.  My assumptions are based on a track record of failures and coverups for the last 6 years. 

See above. And exactly what "failures and coverups" related to public health issues are you referring to?

That doesn't mean I'm ignoring any facts.  It means I don't take what the media and CDC are feeding us at face value.

There is a ton of peer-reviewed literature out there on Ebola. Have you read any of it? I have.....and guess what? The CDC information and recommendations align very well with that wealth of peer-reviewed information.

And your straw arguments (So, by your logic, when you go to the doctor you should receive diagnostic tests for gout) and (sounds like we should ban guns because a few people may maliciously use them or that otherwise...) are stupid and obviously meant to be insulting.

Not straw arguments, analogies to your suggestions of doing unnecessary tests. And while a bit caustic, it wasn't meant to be insulting, rather illustrative of your faulty logic....which apparently was unsuccessful.

The Hawaii patient was admitted and isolated because the hospital staff had reason to suspect it could be the Ebola Virus, not gout. 

Again, I believe the analogy escapes you....

And you know I'm not saying that we should punish or take away any rights of the healthcare workers and planners.  I'm saying we should not put our full blind faith in ANY system that involves humans.

I'm not sure where you got that I suggested that you wanted to take away rights of healthcare workers. And, to be clear, I am not suggesting that you put your blind faith in anything. Just that you do some research before you start spouting off illogical suggestions based on false assumptions and a lack of understanding of the topic at hand. The fact that you somehow equate the use of PPE typically used in hospitals every single day of the year to treat other infectious diseases as some indication of the severity of, or the risk of transmission, of Ebola, just demonstrates your ignorance on the subject matter.

The human factor is quite often the source of many disasters.  From AMTRAK train wrecks to Jet Blue plane crashes ... people screw up and more people die.

I agree. And, as the situation in Texas demonstrates, there will likely be more "mistakes" made by people. But that, in and of itself, does not mean that a single case slipping by will cause a pandemic of Hollywood proportions. It just isn't going to happen unless the Ebola virus mutates to a version that is transmitted via the air, like flu. But, until then, the advice of the CDC is correct and in alignment with current public health practices and world-wide experience and scientific knowledge. 

The CDC is telling there own workers to fear the ebola virus telling all their workers to fear the ebola virus, it kinda contradicts some peoples experiences of have no fear in this discussion